Spread Betting Advice

What is the difference Between Sports Spread betting and Fixed Odds betting?

Spread Betting v Fixed Odds

Spread betting can be much more useful than fixed-odds betting in many instances. 

Fixed-odds betting from the best betting sites payout on a winner and the places (on each-way bets), but spread betting pays out more for finishing 2nd than for finishing 3rd, and that payout system applies to most other markets, too. 

Therefore, if your selection does not necessarily win but is more likely to perform better than the minimum requirement to finish in the places, spread betting will likely reward you better.

Alternatively, you may just find that spread betting rewards good, non winning performance more than fixed odds. 

Each-way terms on most tournaments will only pay 2 places whereas a tournament spread will be made up of points earned not only from winning or finishing as runners up, teams will earn points towards their spread in every phase of the competition. 

This can be particularly helpful when buying one of the weakest teams in the tournament in the expectation that they will slightly (not spectacularly) outperform their spread.

The above is the Sporting Index EPL market at the end of January 2024, There are plenty of possibilities to profit if you get your spread betting predictions correct, the downside is that if a team was to drop away you could be sitting on a huge loss. 

If you were to buy Tottenham at 26, if they make the top 4 (Buy at 26, settled at 33) = 7 times your stake. 

However if Ange Postecoglou and his team lose the plot and end up in 10th you would lose 26 times your stake!  

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How to Place a Sports Spread Bet

Before spread betting on sport it is vitally important to understand how spread betting works. 

The potential for loss is the same as fixed odds betting, but what is different is that you can lose many multiples of your stake with a single loss.

Let's go through some of the basics and the terms associated with spread betting on sport.

I would advise not opening a spread betting account and trying anything out before reading and understanding this section fully, along with the risks involved.

The most basic spread betting terms include

• The Spread
• Buying
• Selling

What is the 'Spread' in Spread Betting?

The spread in the company prediction of what will happen in a specific market for a sporting event. When providing a spread betting market, the firm will have to provide a 'buying' and 'selling' price. 

Companies like Spreadex or Sporting Index who regularly have a generous free bet offer will provide the 'spread' and you decide if you want to buy or sell it. 

Many of the spread betting markets will not be found in traditional fixed odds betting.

Example Spreads on Various Sports:

Here are some examples of spreads that can be bought or sold. You may be able to figure out how they work straight away. Below are some more details explaining exactly how they work and potential outcomes

Buying Spread Bets

Buying the spread is probably the best way to begin your spread betting experience given the benefit of limited losses. Although, do not dismiss the potential to lose at all. 

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What is 'Buying' in Spread Betting?

You will 'buy' if you think the spread offered is to low. You are predicting that the outcome will be HIGHER than the upper level of the spread on offer.

Let us say the spread is 3-3.2 Total Goals. 

'Buying' Total Goals on a 3-3.2 Spread (Predicting 4 or more goals)

The benefit of Buying when Spread Betting

One of the advantages of buying is that you know exactly what your maximum loss is. It is always the biggest number in the spread multiplied by your unit stake. 

Because of this and the bigger excitement which can often be gained in seeing a bet going well rather than being negative, buying is far more popular than selling.

Spread betting companies are of course aware that buying is more popular and it's likely that this is factored into many spreads. It's possible that some markets are poor value for the buyer.

Selling Spread Bets

Selling the spread in spread betting on sport is best approached once you have a handle on buying. 

The reason for this is there can be much higher loss liabilities for which in some cases, there is no upper limit. Let's take a closer look at 'selling' spreads and what that means.

What is 'Selling' in Spread Betting?

If we take the same game example as above in the buying section, on this occasion you thin that the spread is high. 

By this, you are predicting that there will be fewer goals than the spread covers (3-3.2), so in this case, you will 'Sell the spread'

In complete contrast to the buying table above, you can see the effect of each and every additional goal scored above and how your loss can increase beyond what your profit can achieve.

In this example, we have sold the spread at £25 per point. The fewer goals in the game the more we win, but take a look at what happens if the game turns out to be a goal fest.

Huge Spread Make Ups

Here is an example of when things could have gone very wrong by selling a spread.

• Game - LIVERPOOL v CHELSEA
• Market - Total Goal Minutes
• Spread - 155-162
• Result - +422

With four goals in the bag by half time, one coming on the whistle at 45, the total minutes were already mounting up.

Liverpool led 3-1 at half time, added a fourth after the break before Chelsea grabbed a brace back.

Liverpool regain the 2 goal advantage late on to win 5-3 and complete a total of 577 minutes - a discrepancy of 422 points for sellers predicting lower than 155 

Sellers of the spread would have lost 422 x Stake - A painful lesson of how selling has no upper limit to losing.

Pros and Cons of Spread Betting on Sport

Let us presume you are considering spread betting on sport subsequent to the previous experience of fixed-odds sports betting with a traditional online bookmaker. 

What things should we be excited to discover with spread betting and what risks should we very aware of.

What are the Benefits of Sports Spread Betting?

1. The more you are right the more you can win

With traditional fixed odds sports betting or virtual tipping whereby you make a prediction and take the odds, and win a multiple of those odds against your stake if correct, with Spread betting, the more right you are in this market, or the 'more over; the final result is, the more you will win.  

This does work in reverse also so please read the spread betting risks section too.

2. Increase the betting options available to you

Welcome to a whole new world of betting market options. There are many markets involved in spread betting that you will not have seen before and perhaps they will suit your betting style and expertise better.

3. Alternative ways to bet against a favourite

Instead of going to a betting exchange and laying a favourite to lose a race, how about combining al the favourites of the day and buy and sell on the favourite index. 

Once again, this is spread betting and the firm will offer a spread, the more you are right, the more you can win

4. The Spreads can be set very wrong

There is no guarantee that the spread betting company will offer an accurate spread for you to buy and sell against. 

They are very good at it, don't get me wrong, but often you will be able to identify where a spread has, in your opinion, been set way too high or low, and you can have a potentially lucrative opportunity to buy or sell against it.

5. You can close your bets easily to lock in a profit, even before the event starts

With some more advanced strategies, with spreads being fluid and moving, [much like fixed odds do], you may find yourself in a position whereby you can sell a position you previously bought, or vice, versa, to lock in a profit before an event has completed, or even begun in some instances.

What are the Risks of Sports Spread betting?

There really is only one risk of sports spread betting and that is of losing more than you can comfortably afford. 

This goes for all gambling, but such in the nature of the way the Spread betting wagers are calculated, it is possible to lose far more than you might be expecting. 

Consider these three things before entering into sports spread betting activity

1. Understand how much you can lose depending on the market.

Each market you can bet on, even within the same sport will have varying levels of risk to your stake and the multiples in which you could lose.

As mentioned in the buying section above, making a buy bet is a safer option than sell, as you are able to ascertain your maximum liability. 

Always consider the high and low points of the spread, your stake, and the worst case scenario, to understand the real value of your stake and potential loss.

2 Have a maximum loss limit and stake your spread bet accordingly.

One way to minimise your risk when sports spread betting is to decide the maximum amount you are prepared to lose on the market. 

You can then reverse engineer the maximum potential loss and adjust your stake accordingly. remember this will be easier on the buy side of a spread than the sell side.

3. Spend some researching different sports and markets and understand which are the ones fraught with the most danger.

Before even entering into spread betting on sport activity, take some time to consider which sports, or teams or players you know the most about. 

Having some prior knowledge and expertise in a sport will help you identify the best markets to play.

Never entertain making spread bets and particularly selling on sports or market you do not understand. trust me, it ill end in tears.

Compare Best Sports Spread betting Bookies

In the UK there are only 2 firms we recommend for spread betting on sport.

Our expert team sat down and tested each of the companies out across a range of aspects to discover which was the best.

In some cases, there was very little difference and in fact, our recommendation is to have an account with both to take advantage of the best that each has to offer.

Find out what we reviewed and tested and the conclusion the team came to in our Sports Spread Betting Company Comparison Guide

What Sports can you make Spread bets on?

What Can I Spread Bet On?

Spread betting applies to most sports although the markets that are available are sometimes quite different to those available in fixed odds betting. 

In football popular markets on matches include goal minutes (the cumulative number of minutes in which there are goals), shirt numbers (the cumulative number of the shirt numbers worn by each goal scorer) and player goal minutes (the cumulative number of minutes a selected player scores in). 

Horse racing markets tend to revolve around winning distances although performance betting is also available.

Spread betting is not only popular amongst sports punters. 

There is also a massive market for Financial Spreads, it is very much like playing the stock exchange except bets are made against a spread rather than actual stocks and shares being bought and sold.

Football Spread Betting Guide

If there were not enough different types of betting markets for football fixed odds, spread betting offers a huge range of other options for the football prediction experts among you.

You can find upward of 200 different football betting markets. Many of these will go 'in-play', as well, providing the opportunity to take in some o the action before making your prediction ever moving spread odds.

Different Types of Spread Betting Football Markets

This table shows the most popular spread betting markets available on football matches. To list them all would be too much in this view. For example, there are no fewer than 585 markets available to bet on for the Champions League game between RB Leipzig v Atletico Marid on 13th August

In addition, below there are some more in-depth explanations as to how these markets work and what to look for.

The list goes on and on. If this is your first time finding out about the types of bets you can make spread betting on football, some of even these basic and most popular betting markets may sound a little confusing.

Let's dig into a few of them a little deeper.

What is Supremacy Football Spread betting?

While you may never have hear of supremacy betting in football, it is in fact, one of the most simple way to spread bet on football.

Actually, this is spread betting version of 1x2 Full Time Result betting - There, That makes things easier right?

To be more precise it is the dominance of one team over another by the way of goals. and a typical line for this would be something like Manchester United being favourites to beat Arsenal and offered with a line os 0.1-0.3 goals.

If you thought this game was rie for an upset and wanted to bet on Arsenal, the underdogs to win, you would be betting on the number of goals they won by.

Let's say Arsenal won by a score of 0-2 and you bet £10 per goal

If you had bought at 0.3, you would win (2-0.3) x Your Stake - So 1.7 x £10 = £17

Supremacy can also refer to corners, goal minutes, bookings and more

Total Goals

The total goals spread betting market is based on how many goals will be scored in total by both teams in a single match.

Using a similar scenario to the over/under 2.5 goals market in foxed odds, you will be offered a spread, perhaps 2.8-3.00 goals.

You can still bet under 2.8 goals or over 3.00 goals on this spread, but it is done a little differently.

If you think it will be a high scoring game and there will be more than 3 goals you would but 3.00 for your determined stake. 

If there were more than 3 goals, you would simply deduct 3 from the number of goals and multiply that by your stake for your win. 4 goals would qual 1 x your stake

I there was less, then it would work in reverse, whereby you would deduct the number of goals, from 3 and multiply what's left by your stake. A 0-0 game would result in a loss of 3 times your stake

Shirt Numbers

This is where things can get fun, or sticky.

The total shirt numbers market combines the shirt numbers of the goalscorers. So, if there were three goals in a game and the shirt numbers were 7,10 and 11, the total shirt numbers score would be 29

What we have here is a situation where you have to consider both the number of goals that might be scored in the game and factor in the short numbers of the players you feel are likely to score.

Exciting and equally frightening scenarios can come into play in this market, so be prepared.

My first advice would be to lower stakes in this market, the table below will show you why, but for a quick idea, if you buy in a 35-37 game, predicting more than 37 at £10 as the result and the game ends goalless, you will lose £370.

In example 4 in the table above, let's imagine this is Chelsea v Manchester United

The game has ended 3-2 to Chelsea Giroud (shirt number 18) has scored a hattrick, whilst Marcus Rashford (10) score both United goals. It's not impossible I am sure you would agree. The total shirt numbers here is 54+20=74

A sell at 35 results in 35-74=-39x your stake!!!!

Think yourself lucky Paul Pogba missed the last-minute penalty that would have squared the game 3-3 as that would have added another 6 time your stake to your loss.

Bookings

Bookings is easy to follow and again, like shirt numbers can swing heavily one way or another. For a specialised spread betting fan, this is a market that can be the bread and butter of long term profit.

The way the spread is created and scored is around a points award for yellow and Red Cards

• Yellow Cards = 10pts
• Red Cards = 25pts

A spread will be offered to but and sell based around the spread firm predictions and the calculation of your win or loss is the same as the table above.

By now I hope you are getting the hang of how to work this out, and how volatile one market can be over another.

Total Goals Minutes

One of the more simple markets to understand, but not so easy to predict are combining the time of each goal scored in minutes and buying or selling the spread.

Let's say the spread offered on this game was 120-130, let's look at the outcomes based on various results and goal totals minutes.

1. Final Result 1-1 goals scored in 5th and 23rd minutes - Total 28 minutes
2. Final Result 0-1. Goal scored in 85th minute - Total 85 minutes
3. Final Result 3-2. Goals scored in 21st, 33rd, 52nd, 60th and 89th - Total 255 minutes

The Stake on these spread bets is only £1, but take a look at how this would turn out

As you can see there are wild variation from a couple of very realistic results and goal times, and whilst at either end of the scale, large wins could be achieved, the possibility of large losses are possible. 

This market is one that should be considered very carefully before getting involved.

Whilst the game could end up goalless and land a big win for sellers, buyers would be licking 130 wounds.

Conversely, imagine a game between Manchester City and Southampton.

Southampton the underdogs score a shock goal against the run of play just before the break in the 44th minute to be 0-1 at HT

Manchester City comes out in the second half, and do what everyone expected them to do which was score goals and record a comfortable victory, with goals in the 50th, 65th, 79th, and 85th minutes. Suddenly the goals minutes have increased to 323. 

That is some 203 points above the Sell, and thus 203 times the stake would be the loss!

How about another goal in the 90th minute!!! Another 90 times stake for that last gasp goal and you can see how selling can go very badly against you.

ALSO READ

Spread Betting Example - Can Spread Betting Work?

Horse Racing Spread Betting Guide

There are a number of ways you can bet with horse racing spread betting, they include but are not limited to:

• Winning Distances
• Favourites
• SP's
• Jockey performance
• Double Numbers
• Match bets

Betting on Horse racing is exciting enough on it's own, but the added excitement of spread betting makes horse racing spread betting a whole new level of involvement.

How does spread betting on Horse Racing work?

A 'spread will be provided on the potential outcome of a single race, meeting or full festival of races.

Buying and selling on the spread is dependant on whether you feel the outcome of the market will be higher or lower than the horse racing spread on offer.

How does Horse Racing spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?

The ability to buy and sell above and below the spread offer the opportunity to win more, but also lose more dependant on how right or wrong you are in opposing the spread.

Fixed odds betting, is as described in that a winner of a race will be offered at a single price, win or lose, but in spread betting, you may be betting on the total number of lengths the winners will accumulate over the runners up throughout a card.

If the spread is 15-17 lengths, if the result is higher or lower, you will win or lose your stake multiplied by the difference from the offered spread.

Horse Racing Spread Betting Example

Below is a typical spread betting offering on an average horse racing day. 

This market was from Kempton, you have to decide whether the totals will be greater (Buy) or less (Sell) than their spreads.  

Each category has individual rules so for example Racing Post favourites is 25 for a win, 10 for second, 5 for third. 

Cricket Spread Betting Guide

Add another dimension to your cricket betting activity by considering Spread betting on Cricket

What type of Spread bets for Cricket are There?

There are a wide range of spreads to buy and sell on cricket, they include but are not limited to:

• Runs
• Bowler Performance
• Fall of Next Wicket
• Player Performance
• Wides
• 4s
• 6s and more

You will also often see, half centuries, 100's and total runs out available

How does cricket spread betting work?

Spread on cricket may be offered for a single match, series or tournament like the Ashes or World Cup. You will be offered a spread on market like total runs, or any of the others listed above and you will buy or sell the spread

How does Cricket spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?

Buying and selling spread provides the opportunity for you to predict that the firm offering the spread are wrong. You will decide if they have provided a spread that is too high or too low and bet according with the opportunity to win more, the more right you are. Of course, by the same token and very different from fixed odds betting on cricket, the more wrong your prediction, the more you will lose as the difference between the spread and the final outcome will multiple your stake as a loss.

Darts Spread Betting Guide

Darts has become of the most popular fixed odds betting sports in recent year, so it is only natural that the option to make spread bets on the sport should follow. The beauty of spread betting on darts is you do not have to try to predict the winner of the match but can support both players and they try to make up, or miss the elements required for your darts spread bet.

Darts Spread betting Markets

• Highest Checkout
• Total 180's
• Total Legs
• Player Legs
• Missed Doubles and more

How does spread betting on Darts work?

By buying and selling above and below the offered spread, you are making selections based on how right or wrong the spread betting firm have set their spread. You have the option of working on either side, but have to remember that the difference between the upper and lower points of the spread will be multiplied by the actual result and you will or lose a multiple of your stake. because of this, betting on spreads on darts can see you win more than your initial stake, unlike in fixed odds betting on darts where you lose only the state stake for being incorrect.

Baseball Spread Betting Guide

Baseball Spread Betting Markets

• Supremacy
• Total Runs
• Cross-Runs

How does Baseball spread betting work?

Baseball spread betting focuses a lot on runs in the game, with total runs and cross-runs a key part of the markets for spread betting on this sport. Major League Baseball is the key Baseball league for spread betting. 

How does Baseball spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?

The three main spread betting markets for Baseball all differ from general fixed odds betting, with Supremacy focusing on how many runs a team beats another by, Total Runs being the amount of runs scored by both teams in the same match and Cross-Runs the amount of runs scored by one team then multiplied by the runs that the other team scored. 

Basketball Spread Betting Guide

Basketball Spread Betting Markets

• Supremacy
• Total Points
• First Quarter Points
• Player Points
• Total 3-pointers

How does Basketball spread betting work?

Similar to Baseball spread betting, Basketball spread betting focuses on points that are scored in the game, with the added extra of first quarter points giving a new way of betting on the spread.  

Boxing and MMA Spread Betting Guide

Boxing and MMA Spread betting Markets

• Supremacy
• Win Index
• Fight Minutes
• Total Rounds
• Stoppage Handicap and more

How does Boxing and MMA spread betting work?

Spread on Boxing and MMA will be offered for a single fight, with markets differing from the win index, to markets such as total minutes or rounds. You will be offered a spread on those market, or others listed above and you will buy or sell the spread of those.

Golf Spread Betting Guide

There are already a huge number of bet types you can make on fixed-odds betting on Golf, spread betting widen the choice yet further with a great deal more bet types you can make on the various spreads supplied for different elements of the game that can occur through a round or full tournament

Bet on Finishing Positions, Match Bets, Leaderboard Index, Hotshots Index, Winning Score, Player Under Par

What types of Golf Spread bets are There?

1. Finishing Positions
2. Match bets
3. Leaderboard index
4. Winning Scores
5. Players under Par
6. Winning Margins
7. Lowest Round Score

The list of seven markets above are just a few and there are many more options at Spreadex or SportingIndex, the two main spread betting companies available to UK players.

Greyhounds Spread Betting Guide

Spread betting offers another dimension to greyhound racing betting. Rather than betting on a single selection to win a race or pair to land a forecast, you have the opportunity for a wider range fo bets to make.

What types of Spread Bets are there available on Greyhound Racing?

You can bet not he number of favourites that will win across a card or even a days racing, as well as more listed below.

• Favourites
• Starting Prices
• Trap performances
• Trap Challenges

How does spread betting on Greyhounds work?

A sports spread betting firm may offer a spread for the number of winning favourites across a meeting at a single track. perhaps they will predict that 4-6 favourites will win, and you will have the opportunity to predict whether the final figure will be higher or lower

How is Greyhounds spread betting different from fixed odds betting?

You risk a set (fixed) stake on a traditional greyhound racing bet predicting the winner, but in spread betting, by buying or selling the spread, you are predicting and staking to win or lose by the multiple you are right or wrong, above or below the spread on offer.

American Football Spread Betting Guide

American Football Spread Betting Markets

• Total Points
• Touchdown Scorers' shirt numbers
• Total Touchdowns
• Quarter Points
• Touchdown Minutes and more

How does American Football spread betting work?

American Football spread betting is a popular way to get more out of betting on the sport, with the usual winning markets only a small example of what can be backed. Supremacy spread betting is one of the biggest markets out there for the NFL, with one team's dominance over another told in points. 

How does American Football spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?

A sports spread betting firm can offer different markets on specific games, with each game in the NFL usually covered including the prestigious Super Bowl. The key to Spread Betting is there are more than just the standard win or lose markets, with Total Points and even Touchdown Scorers' shirt numbers some of the big markets.

Snooker Spread Betting Advice

Snooker Spread Betting Markets

• Supremacy
• Frames
• Points

How does spread betting on Snooker work?

The primary spread betting market on Snooker focuses on the Supremacy of the match, with further markets around frames and points in each game. Snooker also has outright spread betting markets which highlight the winner and runner up of a competition, along with semi-finalists and so on. 

Tennis Spread Betting Guide

Spread betting on Tennis can be available for Single matches, or full tournaments like Wimbledon or the Australian Open. 

What Tennis Spread betting Markets are there?

Widening the betting options on tennis, the different markets available provide a much wider range of betting options

• Supremacy
• Total Games
• Player games
• Total Points
• player Points
• Aces
• Double faults

In addition, think of any other number of potential things that can happen and accumulate, and you have one of the widest ranges of spread bets available on a single sport.

How does spread betting on Tennis work?

Spread betting on tennis involves buying or selling the given 'spread' on a range of markets such as the total number of double faults that will occur during a match, or tournament. The spread betting site will offer the spread, a higher or lower number as their prediction, and you can then decide if they are wrong, and predict higher or lower, buying or selling the spread.

The more your prediction is right, the more time, your stake will be multiplied as a win, but also the more wrong you are if you are incorrect will multiply your stake in form of a loss.

Politics Spread Betting Guide

Politics Spread Betting Advice

Politics spread betting gives the bettor a completely different way to bet on political events, such as the UK General Election or the United States Presidential Election. The most popular Spread Betting market for Politics in the UK is the Seats market, which is based around how many seats a political party will win at a General Election.

ALSO READ

Top 10 Political Betting Websites in the UK

How does Politics spread betting differ from fixed odds betting?

Rather than the fixed winner of the election market, spread betting means the bettor can focus on the more niche markets such as turnout for the vote, or the party share.

FAQ

Responsible Gambling

All forms of gambling need to be carried out responsibly. 

Please do not ever bet more than you can afford. 

Many tools are available to help you manage your betting, including a host of advisory blogs and links to specialist gambling organisations at the foot of each OLBG.com page.

ALSO READ

Responsible Gambling Features, Function and Help

Editorial Information

Author NIgel Skinner is a member of the in house editorial team and created and updated the spread betting article. Nigel has had spread betting accounts since 2010 and is a regular user of this form of betting. 

Nigel Skinner

Blog Content Manager

Nigel is one of OLBG's senior editors with 19 years of industry experience. Today he specialises in researching and writing about the betting angles to political and mainstream news stories and being the OLBG in-house expert on 'next football manager' betting markets.

Specialist Subjects🔬📚

⚽️👨‍💼 Nigel is an Arsenal fan first and foremost but has an unrivalled knowledge of English football managers at every level. Meticulously putting together our Next Manager articles, Nigel can quite possibly name you every manager of every club in the land, not to mention a pretty good eye for predicting replacements when changes happen. 

📈📊📉 A long-time exchange trader and spread betting fan, Nigel is our go-to for advice on the subjects and uses them daily in his own betting activity. 

🗳️💼 Finally, Nigel loves his politics and [some would say] has an unhealthy interest in the day-to-day events in the UK's political landscape, contributing to all our Political betting content and new pieces.